


21st March 1312

by Rajiformes



Category: Original Work
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Boys' Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Historical, Historical Inaccuracy, Historical References, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Sad, Sad Ending, Secret Relationship, Templars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24847606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rajiformes/pseuds/Rajiformes
Summary: Two Templars meet in secret to escape the homophobic accusations that were hitting the Order more and more frequently, probably for the last time.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	21st March 1312

**Author's Note:**

> I chose the date 21st March 1312 as the title because it was the day after the arrival of King Philip at the Council and the day before the Pope's approval of the suspension of the Templar Order, to then make it definitive on 2nd May 1312.

There were no candles lit that night, the faint moonlight was all the light they needed. Everything was motionless and silent, almost bleak. It was not the first time they had met in the chapel of the Commandery in secret, yet Everard was still very tense. The lies were a weight on the Templar knight's throat, which pressed every time he remembered the words, the apologies he gave to the Commander for his leave. A family matter, he said the first time. Need for rest was what he said afterwards. Over time he invented so many that seemed to repeat. However the Commander never reiterated against him, the man's interest in his most promising knight had always been somewhat marked, until the Templar Order began to collapse.  
That evening the chapel seemed colder than usual. Maybe his perception was only conditioned by his terrible mood. Kneeling on a stone step to pray with bowed head, the Templar began to concentrate on the drawings on the floor that mark the processional route, which Everard had now seen so many times to remember by heart, which goes from the entrance to the gate with a series of stone circles flanked on the sides by colored squares which then project onto the sculptures and frescoes affixed to the wall, surrounded by stained glass windows.  
The sergeant should have arrived in moments. Maybe it would have been their last meeting.  
"Here you are, Everard."  
The voice was hoarse, but with a note of happiness and melancholy that the sergeant probably had intended to hide, in vain.  
The knight exhaled slowly, getting up and leaning on a bench in the center of the chapel always with his gaze fixed on the ground: "In a few days the Pope could formalize the dissolution of the Templars; King Philip has already presented himself to the Council yesterday." He explained and then looked up: "They could transfer me to another Order, different from yours. I am a knight, you a sergeant. It is now a matter of weeks. I don't want to leave you, Robert."  
"Neither do I. But unfortunately, as you know, there is not much we can do."  
The sergeant murmured, taking off his helmet and showing his face well. A moment's hesitation, and Robert staggered forward, almost staggering towards his beloved, until they were facing each other, and the backs of his hands brushed.  
Everard noticed that the skin of the other's knuckles was red and damaged by scars. He gently ran a finger over each knuckle one by one before grasping his hand gently and lifting it close to his face to press a kiss on his palm. Everard's stinging beard when the hand touched his cheek, tickled the sergeant giving him a slight smile: "Would you like to ... take a ride?".  
The knight, who was scrutinizing the bare and dark altar, whirled around tightening his long, cold fingers around his hand: "Are you crazy !? They would see us! We can't risk it."  
In response he received a low moan and still silence.  
"Please," Robert insisted after a few seconds: "the Commander is now sleeping. If we do slowly and we go through the arcades maybe we can reach the garden without showing up and return for the collective prayer shift in time. "And she smiled.  
How could he get a 'No' as an answer?  
"Okay. But let's hurry." And slowly they walked. There were dark figures near the entrance of the dormitories outside which the two could see from behind the large frosted and opaque windows. The only recognizable figure was the large red cross on the armor which remained very evident even in the dark. Occasionally one of the two whispered: "Stay more crouched, otherwise they will discover us." then return to the slight rustle of their crawling cloaks on the ground which was the only audible sound.  
Once they reached the large wooden door that opens onto the garden, they looked at each other and slowly approached them, then started to push it slowly to prevent it from creaking: "We are risking big."  
"I know, Everard."  
It turned out to be a crack wide enough to pass both, one at a time. The grass was not tall, and it was dry. Robert immediately sat cross-legged with his back to the wall and raised his face to the sky, then exhaled loudly. Everard did the same after closing the door, placing a hand gently on his knee: "Are you okay?"  
"It looks so strange. We may never see each other again."  
The tone was calm but it echoed in the sergeant's throat with a huge bitterness that made him a slight sob. The knight's expression filled with sadness, and followed the other's gaze to the moon: "The moon is beautiful today, isn't it? When it is full, it illuminates all the commendation, the night." And squeezed Robert's knee harder.  
"Beautiful," replied the other, only to notice that Everard was facing him. Sighing he placed his hand on that of the knight and tilted his head slightly on his shoulder instinctively. After a few minutes he jumped up, looking him in the eye: "We couldn't be here."  
"I know."  
"And we couldn't even hang out."  
"I know that too."  
Silence.  
"Everard, I-" and stopped. What was he doing? What was he going to say?  
Still silence.  
"Me too."  
"...What?"  
"I love you too, Robert."  
Then he moved his hand to gently take the knight's chin between his thumb and forefinger, while the other hand trembled to his cheek. He approached him and gently pressed their lips together. It was a pressing of lips on lips with a slight tingling given by the beards of both, which ended after about ten seconds. They stared into each other's eyes without the courage to utter a word. Their attention was regenerated by the din of armor slamming on the other side of the wall. It was almost four in the morning, the time of collective prayer.  
"We have to go."  
Robert got up, then stretched out his arm towards his companion: "I will never forget you."  
The other returned, accepting the support to get up: "Neither do I."  
Leaving, they returned to their respective dormitories, light-hearted and with a smile on their faces, even if that was indeed the last time they saw each other before the Order was suspended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This short story was requested to me to publish it in a newspaper and I decided to write it here too.

**Author's Note:**

> This short story was requested to me to publish it in a newspaper and I decided to write it here too.  
> Giving kudos and comments makes me keep going!  
> You can contact me on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/Rajiformes/?hl=it) or [Tumblr](https://raji4mes.tumblr.com/).


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